Lion

The Lion is a huntable animal in Age of Empires and Age of Mythology, and a wild animal in Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms. Lions are also treasure guardians in Age of Empires III.

Age of Empires

Lion
Animal
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Hit points	20
Melee attack	2 unique
Rate of Fire	1
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	0
Speed	0.93
Line of Sight	3
Maximum food	100
Recommended no. of gatherers	2-4

“	Predator that can be hunted for food.	”
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition

Lions are relatively fast predators distributed across most maps, roughly equivalent to the Wolf in later games. They attack most player units that come too close (within around 2 cells), and even Gazelles, although not any dangerous animals such as Crocodiles or Elephants.

They are a particular threat for lone Villagers exploring the map. A Lion can wipe out more than half of the hit point bar if the Villager is taken unaware. Unlike other dangerous animals, they are fast enough to keep up with foot units, so can be difficult to elude. Lone Villagers should either be controlled cautiously to prevent them getting too close to a Lion, or, if an attack is unavoidable, begin throwing spears before the Lion reaches melee range. Triggering a pair of Lions will generally spell the end of an unsupported, unupgraded Villager, but after researching Wheel, it is possible to outrun them.

If a Villager brings down a Lion, it will briefly become a source of 100 food, although the carcass decays at the extremely rapid rate of 1 food per second on the in-game clock. If hunting Lions deliberately for food, try to lure them close to a Storage Pit or Town Center with a military unit, and then use at least two Villagers to bring down the Lion before it can do too much damage. However, this is not an efficient source of food, as Lions typically occur singly in far-flung parts of the map, and decay so rapidly that numerous Villagers will be needed to extract most of the food yield before it disappears entirely.

An easier way of eliminating the threat of Lions is to target them with military units. This will negate the entire food yield, which is only accessible if the final blow is struck by a Villager.

In Return of Rome, Lions are rarer, with many skirmish maps replacing them with Wolves (this version of which functions identically), Bears (which are slower), or landlocked Crocodiles (which are slower, but more aggressive). Lions are a little slower than in earlier versions of the game, but still fast enough to catch Villagers. The Trade Carts added in Return of Rome are safe from predator attacks.

Age of Empires also features Tame Lions as player-controllable military units, and the upgraded Lion (Alpha) (formerly Lion King), although they only appear in the Scenario Editor. Both the game images and the icons are identical to those of the common Lions.

Tame Lion

Tame Lion
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Removed in	Age of Empires: Return of Rome
Type	Animal
Statistics
Hit points	20
Melee attack	3
Reload time	1
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	0
Speed	Walking: 1.1 Running: 2
Line of Sight	4

“	A happy lion with a great heart. He answers to Richard. Credible magicians approve this lion's tameness.	”
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition

The Tame Lion is a player-controllable version of the Lion. It is identical in appearance to the regular animal, but comes with a number of differences. The unit is exclusive to the Scenario Editor and doesn't appear in the official campaigns.

It has +1 Line of Sight and +1 attack, but the latter doesn't ignore the enemy's armor. In the original Age of Empires, it holds 100 food and decays slowly, but is non-gatherable, while in The Rise of Rome, it no longer holds food.

Unlike its Gaia counterpart, the Tame Lion never attacks automatically, not even when it is under attack. Computer-controlled players generally ignore an enemy Tame Lion unless it attacks them. When under the control of such a player, the AI won't make any use of the Tame Lion, so that it can be safely destroyed. Tame Lions can be converted.

Lions and other aggressive animals of Gaia are hostile to Tame Lions. Gazelles can't be attacked by Tame Lions.

The unit is not available in Return of Rome.

Trivia

• In Neolithic and Ancient times, lions lived in most of Africa and also from the Balkans to India. They were absent from East Asia, however.
• The supposed name of the Tame Lion as well as its described personality are probably a reference to Richard the Lionheart.

Age of Empires II

Lion
Animal
Introduced in	Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms
Hit points	25
Melee attack	3
Rate of Fire	2
Armor class	Predator Animals
Speed	Walking: 0.7 Running: 1.05
Line of Sight	12
Maximum food	0
Recommended no. of gatherers	2-3

The Lion appears in Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms Like other wild animals, it appears in several areas around the map and is of hostile nature. It holds no food and attacks Villagers and even some military units on sight. Even though, it will die to anything with the lone exception of a Villager without the Loom upgrade. Lions mostly appear on African maps.

Trivia

• By the Middle Ages, lions had disappeared from Europe but survived in most of their primitive range. They acquired popularity and cultural significance independently in Europe and eastern Asia, and were often depicted in art and imported as captive animals.

Age of Mythology

Lion
Animal
Introduced in	Age of Mythology
Hit points	60
Population	2
Hack attack	8
Hack armor	20%
Pierce armor	30%
Speed	5.00
Maximum food	100
Recommended no. of gatherers	3-5

• Retold
• Original

“	Villagers can hunt wild animals for Food. Lions will attack any nearby villagers.	”
—In-game description

“	This animal can be hunted, but may also hunt you.	”
—In-game description

The Lion is a huntable animal, but it will also attack any worker that wanders too close, and does not provide much food to be worth the cost of taking it down.

"Chariot of Cybele" is a Relic that will provide the player with two Golden Lions that will be under the control of the player, and respawn after being killed.

History

“	Scientific name -- Panthera leo Size -- 450 lbs. male, 300 lbs. female Diet -- large herbivores, especially wildebeest and zebra Lions are the largest of the big cats. They specialize in hunting large herbivores, such as zebra and wildebeest, but have been known to eat virtually all African land animals over a few pounds. Like all cats, lions have great acceleration but poor stamina, so they rely on ambush and group tactics to catch their prey. Most lions attack from within 100 feet of a target prey animal. Even so, a great percentage of animals still manage to escape. While the conventional wisdom is that females do most of the hunting, male lions are quite capable if not superior hunters. Female lions are social, which allows them to hunt cooperatively, while males are solitary and spend much of their energy patrolling a large territory. Females need to spend extra time hunting since the male takes no part in caring for the young. Female lions form prides of two-to-eighteen related individuals, making them the only truly social cat. While hunting in groups may be effective, it is not dramatically more effective then hunting alone, since more food must be gathered to feed the entire pride. It is more likely that females socialize to help defend their cubs from male lions. Historically, the range of the lion extended up into Europe. They have been extinct from Europe for about 2000 years and are presently confined to conservation areas in sub-Saharan Africa. A relict population of about 250 of the Asiatic lion sub-species still exists in India. While they do attack people, lion existence is also at odds with the widespread cattle culture of Africa.	”
—In-game help section

Age of Empires III

Lhota the Pet Lion
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Type	Pet Hand infantry Sees stealth*
Civilization(s)	Ethiopians Indians
Age	Exploration Age
Training
Cost	170 Food
Train time	25 seconds
Train limit	12
Statistics
Hit points	150
Resistance	10% Hand
Speed	5.0
Line of Sight	12
Train XP	17
Kill XP	17
Hand attack
Damage	18 Hand
Rate of Fire	1.5
Bonus damage	1.5x vs. Guardian 0.1x vs. Villager

Lhota the Pet Lion is a pet in Age of Empires III. He is very effective against treasure guardians.

Two Lhota the Pet Lions can be shipped from the Indian Home City in the Exploration Age to provide valuable support to the Brahmins, taking down most treasure guardians with only a few hits. For the Ethiopians, it can also be received with each future shipment if the "King of Kings" card was sent.

Upgrades

Lhota the Pet Lion, like all other pets, upgrades automatically each Age:

• +20% hit points and damage
• +30% hit points and damage
• +40% hit points and damage
• +60% hit points and damage

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Treasure guardians
Weak vs.	Villagers
Improvements
Hit points	Maya Cotton Armor (+20%) Infantry Breastplate (+10%) Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Tar Kilns (+5%)
Attack	Zapotec Cult of the Dead (+20%) Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%) Master Lessons (+10%) Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Wind Horses (-10% Rate of Fire)
Line of Sight	Town Watch (+3)
Speed	Push of Pike (+10%; Swedes only) Apache Endurance (+5%) Wind Horses (+0.5)
Train time	Immigrants (-10%) New Mexico Immigration (-10%; United States only) Strangers' Quarters (-10%; Africans only)
Cost	Somali Oryx Hide Shields (-10%)
Penalties	Push of Pike (+10% train time; Swedes only)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Lhota the Pet Lion

Some cards are highlighted with:
Green	TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
Red	Shipment that can be sent twice
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

• Definitive Edition
• The Asian Dynasties

Africans

Card	Description	Age
Feudal Armies	Unit train time -15%; hero respawn time -15%

Chinese

Card	Description	Age
Western Reforms	Unit hit points and damage +8%
Acupuncture	Unit (except monk) train time -20%; Summer Palace banner army, Flying Crow, and Heavy Cannon spawn time -5%

Ethiopians

Card	Description	Age
King of Kings	Delivers 1 Lhota the Pet Lion with every future Home City shipment, including this one; Rases get the Roar of the Lion! ability
Ignatian Spirituality	Unit (except herded animals) hit points +5%, regeneration rate +1.0 (even in combat)

Europeans

Card	Description	Age
Brethren of the Coast	Delivers 1 Battleship with 10 Pirates in it; enables Battleships to train American, African and European outlaws (if available), Pirates, Duber the Pet Monkeys, and some pets; costs 1,000 coin
Wanderlust	Land military and land villager hit points +5%; land villager and construction wagon speed +5% (can be sent 3 times)

• "Brethren of the Coast" is available to the British and French upon revolting to Haiti.
• "Wanderlust" is available to the British and Dutch upon revolting to South Africa.

Haudenosaunee

Card	Description	Age
Wampum	Unit train bounty +35%, train time -20%, siege unit and artillery train time -5% instead; building build bounty +35%

Inca

Card	Description	Age
Road Building	Land military speed +10%

Indians

Card	Description	Age
2 Pet Lions	Delivers 2 Lhota the Pet Lions, +1 Hindu Villager
Dravidian Martial Arts	Unit all melee attack damage +15%; Rajput hand attack damage +20% instead, +1 Hindu Villager
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	Unit hit points and damage +5%

Japanese

Card	Description	Age
Bakufu	Daimyo and Shogun Tokugawa speed +5%, Line of Sight +10, training and research work rate +15%; land military train time -20%, artillery and banner army train time -10% instead

Lakota

Card	Description	Age
Winter Counts	Unit train bounty +40%; building build bounty +20%

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Delivers 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center and Command Post present on the map; unit hit points +2%

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military building training and research work rate +400%, unit speed +10%
Colegio de San Nicolas	Delivers 1 Large Collection of Books (500 XP); unit Line of Sight +4; building (except Wall) Line of Sight +8; reveals enemy units' positions for 20 seconds
National Servant	Unit (except herded animals) hit points +10%; Padre heal work rate +200%	Imperial Age

• "Colegio de San Nicolas" is available upon selecting the Michoacán Federal State.
• "National Servant" is available upon selecting the Estado de México Federal State.

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Hand Infantry Attack	Hand infantry damage +15%
Archaic Infantry Hitpoints	Hand infantry and foot archer hit points +15%; Rodelero hit points +20% instead
Archaic Infantry Combat	Hand infantry and foot archer hit points and damage +15%
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Delivers 1 Inquisitor; military and economic unit Line of Sight +10

Swedes

Card	Description	Age
Hand Infantry/Hand Cavalry Hitpoints	Hand infantry and hand cavalry hit points +15%

United States

Card	Description	Age
Indiana Mobilization	Delivers 1 Carbine Cavalry for each shipment sent so far this game, including this one; unit train time, technology research time, Age up time -10%; costs 250 food, 250 wood

• "Indiana Mobilization" is available upon selecting the Indiana Federal State.

Indians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
2 Pet Lions	Delivers 2 Pet Lions; +1 Villager		1
Dravidian Martial Arts	All units get +15% all melee attack damage; +1 Villager		40
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	All units get +5% hit points and damage		25

Spanish

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Hand Infantry Attack	Hand infantry get +15% damage		10
TEAM Inquisition	All units get +10 Line of Sight		10

Treasure guardian

Lion
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Type	Guardian
Civilization(s)	Mother Nature
Statistics
Hit points	270
Speed	7.0
Line of Sight	9
Kill XP	16
Hand attack
Damage	10 Hand
Rate of Fire	1.5

The Lion is a powerful treasure guardian found in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties on Asian maps. It is a much more powerful version of the Tiger and is dangerous to defeat with Explorers.

Lions are found in maps such as Mongolia, Deccan, Yellow River, and Silk Road.

History

“

Scientific Name: Panthera leo Approx. Size: 9 ft. long, 3 ft. to shoulder, 400 lb. Diet: Antelope, zebra, wildebeest, other large herbivores, domestic livestock, carrion Few creatures are as unmistakable as the lion, a legend of the natural world since ancient times, and one of few animals worthy of the title "king of the beasts." With its impressive mane and imposing size, the lion has long been glorified as the epitome of the big cat, even though it shares most physical characteristics with its cousin, the tiger, which is actually a larger animal. The lion has a powerful compact body, with strong forelegs and jaws used specifically for seizing an escaping animal and killing it. Adult lions have the notable golden coat of hair, which is a sign of its maturity, since cubs have light spots that fade and vanish over time. The pronounced mane is only present in males, and even then it usually grows only on lions in cooler climates. The lion is the most social of the big cats, living in groups called prides that are comprised of up to forty individuals. The females do most of the hunting while the males defend the community. At an early age, a male lion is driven from the pride and eventually joins together with brothers or cousins in small coalitions to search for a new group. Once he enters a new pride, a male lion will go about systematically killing any cub that cannot outrun him. In the past, lions lived and hunted in many diverse geographic regions, from the vast corridor linking Europe and India, known as Eurasia, to across the breadth of Africa. However, by the second century, populations in the Middle East and Europe had been hunted to extinction. Today, lions now live only in Africa, with the exception of a small population clinging to life in the Gir Forest of northwestern India.

”

Gallery

A Lion in the Definitive Edition

Close-up of the Lion

Many views of Lions

Many views of the Lion in Return of Rome

Lions in-game

Many views of the Lion in the Definitive Edition

Lions in-game

In-game Lion

A Lion guarding treasure in Deccan

The Lion's history portrait

Lion image from the Compendium section

Lhota in-game